Chapter Twelve: Tetsuya of the Ark

This was a world under the iron grip of the state, a place where people lived with scarcely any privacy at all. Cameras stood everywhere, and holographic screens floated in the sky—some watching over the public’s daily lives, others devoted to relentless indoctrination.

Life here was unbearably stifling.

When night fell and people returned home from work, they seemed to be folded away like canaries into their cages. Most cared little for the affairs of the outside world, having already severed their social circles, and could do nothing but endure endless loneliness through the long hours of darkness.

The entire city, built of steel and concrete, was like a vast prison, locking away people’s dreams and hopes. By day, they endured tedious, exhausting labor at their workplaces; by night, they either hurried home or lingered in bars and clubs, drinking themselves into oblivion. In the endless repetition of day and night, beneath the ceaseless barrage of holographic messages, people gradually became rigid and indifferent, slowly sealing away the hearts that should once have beat with fervor.

For this reason, the industry of psychological counseling and stress relief rose with startling speed, and crowds rushed toward it in droves. Those living in this spiritual wasteland would grasp at any faint glimmer that might possibly be called light in the dark, however small.

"What? Borrow money?" K set down the whiskey in his hand, looked up at JIN across from him in his black clothes, and raised an eyebrow. "Even if I have to work with you to finish the job during this period, that doesn’t mean our personal relationship is especially close. Most of what exists between us is business."

JIN leaned back comfortably into the sofa, curled the corner of his mouth, and nodded. "True enough. Friends wouldn’t even know each other’s names, let alone each other’s lives."

K crossed one leg over the other and wore his habitual smile. "Since you understand that, why are you still asking to borrow money from me?"

He leaned forward slightly and looked at JIN. "No matter how I look at it, you don’t seem like the kind of guy who pays people back on time!"

JIN shrugged. "Come on. At the very least, we’ve shared life-and-death situations."

"Yeah, right." K replied in exasperation. "That was just because of work. Who would want to have that sort of ridiculous bond with you?"

"See that?" JIN said in a low voice, pointing toward the bar girl who was personally walking over with a glass in her hand. "She’s been chasing after me. If you’re willing to lend me the money, I can introduce you two."

K ran a hand through the hair at his forehead and broke into a lecherous grin. "Listen carefully, you are not allowed to lie to me!"

Then he turned back to the bar girl and gazed at her in a dazed, enchanted tone.

"What an incredible body... She’s exactly the kind of girlfriend I dream about..."

By then, the bar girl had come close and was bending over to set the glass on the table. K put on an exaggerated expression, staring stupidly at the elegant curves of her body with a look so drooling it might as well have been water.

The bar girl leaned slightly toward him, the heel of her shoe pressing hard down on the top of his foot. She shot him a fierce glare and cursed, "Pervert!"

"What the—" K hissed, trying to turn around and protest while enduring the pain in his foot.

But she had no intention of paying him any mind. Instead, she turned and sat beside JIN, her beautiful eyes fixed on him. "You’re short on money? I’ll lend it to you, then. Was it necessary to sell me out for that?"

JIN shifted subtly to the side. Being exposed so directly left him somewhat awkward, and for a moment he did not know how to answer.

The bar girl, however, was far less reserved than he was. She simply lifted the glass from the table, took a neat sip, then leaned toward JIN as if resting against him. Breathing softly against his ear, she murmured, "Remember my name. It’s Anri."

JIN froze for a moment, somewhat unable to accept her boldness. Before he could say anything, Anri had already stood up and walked away on her own.

Looking at K’s murderous stare, JIN gave an innocent smile and apologized, "Looks like your girlfriend may have to wait a very long time after all."

K snorted and did not reply to JIN’s teasing.

After a pause, seeing that JIN had no intention of saying anything further, he said sourly, "You really are a lucky bastard..."

JIN smiled. "Not really. It’s just because I’m more handsome than you by more than a little."

"..." K opened his mouth, then decided in the end to ignore this man’s shamelessness and asked instead, "What do you need the money for?"

Leaning lazily against the sofa, JIN answered, "The Ark Psychological Training Center. Have you heard of it?"

K looked at JIN with a strange expression. "Ark Tetsuya? That pretty outstanding psychiatrist? I do see advertisements for that guy all the time. Those damn screens overhead seem to show nothing but ads apart from messages."

He paused, then said, "I’ve already memorized his ad copy!"

Immediately afterward, he imitated that tone and, with an odd smile on his face, recited:

"Do you feel lost? Do you feel tired? Do you feel as though you are living in a fog? Do you feel... as if you are not in the real world at all!?"

"Please come at once to our Ark Psychological Training Center. I, Ark Tetsuya... blah blah blah..."

Seeing him like that, JIN could not help laughing. He quickly waved a hand. "Don’t keep going. If you carry on like that, you’ll make me think Tetsuya Ark is completely unreliable."

K looked at JIN speechlessly, but that gaze gradually changed, as if he were searching for something.

JIN too sensed the oddness in his eyes and could not help touching his own face. "What’s wrong with me?"

"You look just like him!" K suddenly slapped the table and exclaimed excitedly.

JIN blinked. "Like who?"

"Tetsuya Ark! That famous psychiatrist!!!"

"No way. Our facial features aren’t that similar." JIN was a little speechless.

But K seemed to have discovered a new continent, and he could not help continuing, "Your facial features do resemble his a little, but that’s not the important part."

He paused, then said, "I like observing the smallest movements and expressions in a person, so I can tell that even your habitual gestures, your shrugging, your expressions, your frowns, the way you purse your lips—they’re all very similar to that man’s, almost as if you were the same person."

"These habitual movements are different in everyone. There can never be two people who are exactly alike. His smile and yours are a little different, but apart from that, they’re truly too similar!"

Then he leaned closer to JIN and whispered, "You couldn’t be... his unknown twin brother, could you!?"

Tetsuya’s mouth twitched. He carefully recalled the features K had described, yet they still remained somewhat blurred in his mind, and for a moment he could not be certain either.

But K said, "Use that portable smart computer in your hand. There’ll be video information about this person online. A search will turn it up right away. Trust me—I’ve never been wrong when judging a person’s identity."